Addy Chen, left, has been charged under Myanmar’s sodomy law. (Photo courtesy of Myo Min Latt)
YANGON, Myanmar — The LGBTI community in Myanmar has demand fair media coverage of a gay man with HIV who is charged under the controversial Penal Code 377 for allegedly committing sexual abuse against one of his employees.The accused, Aung Myo Htut, aka Addy Chen, is an outspoken LGBTI rights advocates and commonly known to be HIV-positive. Chen, who also owns a restaurant in Yangon, allegedly asked one of his waiters to give him a massage and sexually assaulted him in March.
Chen was arrested on the same day the man who accused him of sexual assault filed a case against him at a local police station. Chen was charged under Section 377 of the national penal code, which makes same-sex sexual acts illegal, regardless if they were consensual or not.
Chen faces of a sentence of between 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
The media’s portrayal of LGBTI people in Myanmar is unfavorable, adding to deeply rooted social stigma and stereotypes against sexual minorities and people living with HIV/AIDS. LGBTI rights advocates in the country say the portrayal of Chen’s case in the mainstream media is biased against the accused and is very damaging to the LGBTI population as a whole.
“We do not see any media ethics here,” says Yaya Aye Myat, a well-known transgender activist. “Many media reports Addy Chen’s case as if he was already convicted. That makes the public outrageous. In fact, a person is not guilty until proven by the court of law and until then, the person is entitled to the benefits of doubt.”
The Irrawaddy, an influential newspaper in Myanmar, first published a sensational video of Chen’s accuser’s testimony and it went viral among the country’s netizens. The video shows a one-sided story in which Chen’s accuser claims Chen coerced him into performing oral sex on him and later engaging in unprotected receptive anal sex.
Chen’s accuser emotionally said he is just a poor rural boy trying to earn a living in the city to support his siblings. He added Chen ruined his life because he may have been infected with HIV after having unprotected sex.
The restaurant manager, who helped Chen’s accuser to file the case against Chen and is also one of the key witnesses against him, also appeared in the video that has had 1.9 million views and 24,000 shares on the Irrawaddy’s Facebook page.
Other Burmese language media outlets followed up in Chen’s case after the video went viral.
Many people find the allegations against Chen outrageous and are demanding harsh punishment for him, even though a court has not found him guilty. Chen’s accuser in the video showed HIV-preventative drugs he has been taking as suggested by a doctor, but tabloid media has mistakenly described them as antiretroviral drugs, assuming he is already HIV-positive.
Chen’s family deactivated his Facebook page within a week of his arrest because of an overwhelming number of hate messages, derogatory comments and even death threats that he received.
Nay Oo Lwin, a gay rights advocate in Myanmar, says the LGBTI community is against sexual assault, regardless of whether the perpetrator is gay or straight. Lwin added he wants to see a fair trial in Chen’s case.
“We respect the rule of law but we don’t want to be repressed by the laws,” he said. “I feel that the media reports on Addy Chen’s case and discussions on social media are attacking the gay community and intensifying the stereotypes.”
Although the mainstream media reports unanimously describe Chen as guilty, the recent court testimony suggests the opposite.
During a hearing that took place on Oct. 4, the court physician said he didn’t find semen or any tears and lacerations on the anuses of both Chen and his accuser, in contrast to his earlier testimony in which he said Chen had penetrative anal sex with him for 20 minutes. There were also inconsistencies in testimonies by the plaintiff and witnesses.
Media reports also did not report the fact the restaurant manager and witnesses who testified owed a significant amount of money to Chen. They are now postponing payment of these debts due to the trial.
“Addy trusted the manager girl and loaned her lots of money,” said Chen’s relative, Myo Min Latt. “All six witnesses summoned by the plaintiff are debtors to Addy Chen. We have documents that Addy loaned them money. They also admitted to owing money to Addy during the court hearing.”
The defendant’s attorney says she believes her client never abused any of his staff except for asking his accuser to give him a massage. She said the alleged victim has exploited the fact that Chen is a gay man living with HIV to frame him as an abuser.
Despite this evidence, the trials continue.
Chen’s request for bail was denied for the third time on Oct. 30.
Chen’s family says his health is now deteriorating in prison. They say he only has limited access to medicine and medical facilities that people with HIV need.
“He has been detained in prison for eight months so far,” says Latt. “He is already very depressed by the media portrayal of him as gay rapist. He is now getting frequently ill. The trials are going on although the court physician had testified of not finding any signs of abuses on the victim. In the last hearing, the plaintiff attorney requested to add an additional witness to extend the trial. I think they are deliberately delaying the final verdict.”
Myat says the court’s decision to deny Chen’s request for bail will impact the entire LGBTI community.
“There are cases, charged under Section 375 of Penal Code for accused of minor rape and the alleged perpetrators were released on bail, given their age or health condition,” she said. “But not for this particular case. So, who will hold accountable, if the accused in this case does not survive all the trials and found to be not guilty in the end?”
Seven days … to turn out in masses to flip the House and the Senate and elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot! In this final countdown, it’s crucial to make sure your friends and family are committed to voting, too — and that when they get to their polling place, they’re voting for candidates and initiatives that support the LGBTQ community.
Talk to them about issues that matter to you … help them learn what’s on their ballot … even offer to go with them or give them a ride. Lending a helping hand to those important people in your life can make all the difference!
HRC President Chad Griffin has travelled to more than 30 key districts in 18 states over the past several weeks to drum up support in must-win races. And in the wake of last week’s explosive New York Times report revealing the administration’s secret plans to “erase” transgender people and exclude LGBTQ people from federal civil rights protections, he recorded a message about how we can use Election Day to counter this latest attack.
Few senators currently serving in public office are as scary as Ted Cruz and, this year, we are going to send him packing. Cruz has spent his career undermining the rights of LGBTQ people for his own political gain — he is a true enemy of equality, and a Trump-Pence follower who has to go. HRC is proudly supporting his opponent, Beto O’Rourke — and working hard to shut down Cruz come election day.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin made history in 2012 as both the first openly LGBTQ senator in U.S history and the first woman senator from Wisconsin. Now, we need to keep her there! Republicans are using every weapon in their arsenal — vicious attack ads, influential conservative donors and hateful rhetoric about her record — to ensure she loses her seat. So, it’s on us to work harder and smarter to turn out Wisconsin voters for her reelection.
Not in the “going outside” kind of mood? You can make a difference right from your house by making calls for key candidates! Sign up here.
Our team has made a real commitment to this election … with more than 145 HRC staff on the ground leading GOTV efforts in 23 states, training hundreds of local organizers and volunteers across the country and educating voters.
“I wanted to make a difference and volunteering with HRC gave me that opportunity.”
Feeling fired up and want to help at this critical time?Contribute to HRC’s election work through HRC’s Equality Votes PAC. We’re on the front lines, fighting tooth and nail to elect pro-equality candidates — but with billionaires backing our opponents, we need more grassroots support.
The Democratic Party hopes to paint Congress in blue at the midterm elections—but there is more than one colour in the spectrum of candidates hoping to win political office on November 6.
LGBT+ people are severely underrepresented across all levels of politics in the US. The 21 openly LGBT+ candidates running for the House of Representatives, the two in the run for Senate seats, and the four hoping to win their state’s gubernatorial race could be about to break barriers on November 6.
In a sign of the extreme political divide on LGBT+ issues, all 27 of the out LGBT+ candidates are Democrats, with no Republican candidates running for major political office publicly identifying as LGBT+.
University of North Carolina politics professor Andrew Reynolds, an expert on LGBT+ representation in politics, is however cautious in predicting widespread electoral success for the Rainbow Wave, telling PinkNews that “small increases” in LGBT+ representation are the most likely outcome.
For several LGBT+ candidates, their close-fought races continue to hang in the balance ahead of election day. PinkNews took a look at the most closely-watched races.
Tammy Baldwin (Senate, Wisconsin)
US Democratic Senator from Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay senator (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty)
The Human Rights Campaign notes that Vukmir “has repeatedly taken extreme positions far outside the mainstream,” and has derailed efforts to pass common sense protections for LGBT+ people in the state, including protections for LGBT+ youth facing discrimination and bullying at school.
Baldwin said: “As more members of the LGBTQ community are elected and become public servants, [our] voices will become louder.
“But for now, we must do everything we can to promote tolerance and fight discrimination. We have work to do until we achieve full acceptance and equality.”
An NBC News/Marist poll on October 3 has Baldwin with 54 percent of the vote, 14 points ahead of Vukmir on 40 percent.
Her opponent, Republican Martha McSally, has supported Trump’s ban on transgender troops in the military and backed ‘freedom to discriminate’ laws.
During her time in Congress, Sinema has co-sponsored the Equality Act, which would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to also ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Annise Parker of LGBTQ Victory Fund, a PAC seeking to support LGBT+ elected officials, said that this race is important ”not just for the Democratic party and for the LGBTQ community, but for all Americans who demand an end to the political divisiveness that Martha McSally embodies.”
She added that the result in the race will be a “defining moment” for the ‘Rainbow Wave,’ and will further “the evolution in how Americans view LGBTQ people and candidates.”
Polling shows the vote on a knife-edge. A CBS News/YouGov poll on October 5 showed Sinema leading McSally by 47 percent to 44, but a New York Times poll on October 19 showed her trailing by 46 percent to 48, firmly within the poll’s margin for error.
Kate Brown (Governor, Oregon)
Oregon Governor Kate Brown (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
Victory Fund, which is backing Brown, praised her work to date in advancing legislation that improves the lives of LGBTQ veterans and trans people.
It added: “When she wins in November, Governor Kate Brown will remain a strong leader for equality and inclusion in Oregon, and that is why Victory Fund is thrilled to endorse her for reelection.”
Brown has a lead over lead over Republican Knute Buehler, with an OPB/DHM poll on October 11 showing her with 40 percent to Buehler’s 35.
Christine Hallquist (Governor, Vermont)
There are currently no transgender politicians in federal or statewide office across any of the 50 states, with the sole example of trans representation in American politics limited to Virginia lawmaker Danica Roem.
But Christine Hallquist, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Vermont, is hoping to change that.
If elected, Hallquist could become the first openly transgender politician in the US. She faces an uphill battle against incumbent Republican Governor Phil Scott, but Vermont has a reputation for picking outsiders—not least one Senator Bernie Sanders, who was first elected as an Independent in 2006 and was re-elected in 2012.
Speaking to The Hill, she said: “I told the campaign team right in the beginning that if we’re successful and the more successful we get, the more hatred, the more vitriol and more death threats would occur.
“I think it’s a natural outcome of where our country is today. We are a divided country… I land that squarely at the administration in Washington.
“I should tell you, it doesn’t scare me at all (…) We lay our lives on the line for a healthy democracy.”
An October 14 Braun Research poll had Scott on 42 percent of the vote, ahead of Hallquist on 28, with 22 percent still undecided.
But Democratic candidate Lupe Valdez has picked up momentum in her challenge against anti-LGBT Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, as the red state turns a deep shade of purple thanks to increased support for Democrats.
Her campaign could be buoyed by a surge in support for Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic challenger for the state’s Senate seat against incumbent Ted Cruz, who is up for election on the same day.
O’Rourke has led a fiery challenge against anti-LGBT Senator Cruz, with a surge in popular support bringing a competitiveness not generally seen in Texas races.
If elected, Valdez would become one of the first out LGBT+ official in Texas.
Speaking at a rally, Valdez said: “We’re going to make it happen. A stronger and fair Texas. A tolerant and diverse Texas. A Texas where the everyday person has a voice and a shot just as I did.”
Addressing the odds at the same event, she said: “Please tell me when I didn’t have an uphill battle… I am getting darn good at uphill battles, and I’m not done yet.”
A CNN poll on October 13 shows Valdez trailing Abbott by 18 points, with 39 percent of the vote to his 57 percent.
Jared Polis (Governor, Colorado)
Jared Polis in 2014 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
Polis has been one of the leading lights for LGBT+ rights in the House of Representatives, co-chairing the LGBT Equality Caucus and co-sponsoring the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which federally recognises anti-LGBT hate crimes.
He is now running to become governor of Colorado, and if successful would be the first openly gay man elected governor in the United States.
Polis said: “I think it really gives Colorado an opportunity to stick a thumb in the eye of Mike Pence, whose view of America is not as inclusive as where America is today.”
He faces Republican candidate Walker Stapleton.
Victory Fund praised the work of Polis in Congress, adding that he is “someone we can all count on to fight and win the tough battles.”
The organisation said: “Whether as an entrepreneur creating hundreds of jobs, a superintendent at a school for vulnerable kids, or a representative fighting on the front lines for LGBTQ equality, Jared’s entire career has been defined by turning bold ideas into real results for Americans from all walks of life.
“We will be proud to stand by him when he becomes the first openly gay person to be elected governor.”
A Magellan poll on October 10 showed Polis on 47 percent, seven points ahead of Stapleton on 40 percent.
Gina Ortiz Jones (House, Texas-23)
Jones is the Democratic candidate for Texas’s 23rd congressional district in the House of Representatives, challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Will Hurd.
The Air Force veteran could become the first openly gay woman of colour from Texas elected to Congress.
Her opponent’s seat is one of the most vulnerable in Texas in the event of a Democratic surge, with Hurd having retained the seat in 2014 and 2016 by fewer than 3,000 votes—lower than the number of votes attracted by third-party candidates.
Hurd has a poor record on LGBT+ rights, scoring 48 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional scorecard.
Equality PAC Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) said that Gina Ortiz Jones is “exactly the kind of candidate we need to gain a pro-equality majority in 2018.”
Takano explained: “Gina bravely served our country in uniform under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and knows first hand the corrosive effect of anti-LGBT policies.
“Her voice and perspective will be an invaluable addition to not just debates on equality, but military readiness, national security, health care policy, and all the myriad issues members of Congress face every day.”
New York Times polling on October 18 showed Ortiz Jones with 38 percent of the vote, trailing Hurd with 53 percent.
The political hopeful worked on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, before serving as a White House Fellow under President Barack Obama.
Yoder has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his LGBT+ rights voting record, opposing same-sex marriage.
However, Davids has an uphill battle, given the district’s strong Republican leaning.
Victory Fund’s Parker said: “Sharice’s commitment to smart public policy that addresses the real concerns of constituents makes her the best candidate for Kansas’ 3rd congressional district. When she wins [in] November, Sharice will become a vital LGBTQ voice.”
A New York Times poll on October 17 shows Davids with a health lead in the race. She is on 48 points, ahead of Yoder on 39 percent.
Katie Hill (House, California-25)
Katie Hill (Katie Hill for Congress)
Homelessness charity boss Katie Hill is the Democratic candidate for California’s 25th congressional district in the House of Representatives.
Knight was behind a 2016 plot to pass a law permitting sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination in all federal agencies by attaching it to a defence spending bill.
He was accused of “catering to right wing extremists who would turn back the clock on equality” with the proposal to exempt religious contractors from anti-discrimination rules.
Annise Parker of Victory Fund said that the race is a key battle between a “positive, solutions-oriented vision” and the “politics of hate and destruction.”
Parker added: “Steve Knight and his family made careers out of attacking LGBTQ people and working to rollback equal rights. Now, voters have an opportunity to defeat him with an openly bisexual woman who has pledged to represent all her constituents.”
The Republican narrowly won the seat in 2014 and 2016, and polling shows the race is on a knife-edge between the two.
An October 4 UC Berkeley poll has Hill on 50 percent, ahead of Knight on 46 percent, but a New York Times/Siena poll on September 19 showed Knight with a two-point lead, on 47 percent to Hill’s 45.
A group of men, women and children with their backpacks and other things they needed for a long trip left Plaza del Divino Salvador del Mundo in the Salvadoran capital at around 8 a.m. on Oct. 28.
They were part of a caravan that formed with the ultimate goal of reaching the U.S. The Salvadoran government has asked people not to risk their lives on such a trip, but more than 300 people decided to ignore this plea and replicate the caravan of Hondurans that left the city of San Pedro Sula on Oct. 13.
“Stand with the people who will participate in this caravan. Let people know where you are so others know,” reads a message that was published on a Facebook page on Oct. 24. “It is easier for everyone to arrive in groups.”
“There are people from across the country,” it says. “El Salvador emigrates for a better future.”
This page was created on Oct. 16, and it is administered by a person who has not identified themselves. The page encourages people who want to leave the country to create and join groups on social media to find out about groups in their areas that would travel with the caravan.
This situation has sparked concern among different activists and civil society groups, including LGBTI organizations that are part of the LGBTI Salvadoran Federation. COMCAVIS Trans, a transgender advocacy group, published an advisory that warns members of the LGBTI community not to migrate.
“TO MIGRATE is a RIGHT, but doing it in an illegal way carries high risks, especially for LGBTI people,” says the COMCAVIS Trans advisory that it posted to its Facebook page.
“Some LGBTI people migrate to improve their economic conditions, since in El Salvador many LGBTI people, especially transgender women, face clear discrimination in employment,” COMCAVIS Trans Executive Director Bianca Rodríguez told the Washington Blade. “There is a lot of concern over their personal safety, gangs who target them, cruel treatment and abuse of power on the part of police officers and soldiers.”
The advisory, among other things, mentions an LGBTI person should not expect to receive refuge in the U.S. because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It also emphasizes the U.S. government has said anyone who enters the country illegally will be detained and be processed for deportation.
Liduvina Magarin, vice minister of El Salvador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared the government would provide “escorts” to the group of Salvadoran migrants with the sole purpose of keeping families informed so they make responsible decisions and not put the lives of children at risk on the migratory route.
But another group of people gathered at Plaza del Divino Salvador del Mundo on Oct. 31 to form a second caravan with the same goal of seeking a better future for their families.
“If it is normally dangerous for us in our daily lives, this risk triples in the caravans,” Aldo Peña of Hombres Trans HT, an advocacy group for trans men, told the Blade. “Not only are they violated or will be violated at the borders by the authorities or become victims of crimes, but they will also be victimized by those who are part of the caravans.
“I would not go to possibly die on the road,” added Peña. “They (migrants) must remember that their families will continue to experience the injustices of this country if they leave.”
A Salvadoran trans advocacy group has issued this advisory that urges LGBTI Salvadorans not to join migrant caravans to the U.S.
Camila Portillo, a trans activist, for her part told the Blade that “we must not stop the dream of emigrating for a better future, if, for example, the government and the country does not guarantee socio-economic development for the LGBTI community.”
“In practice, it is not carried out in the correct way, although there are people in power who tend to support LGBTI people,” she said.
“Here there is a lot of forced internal displacement because of the issue of violence, so I don’t think it’s a trend,” Portillo added. “It’s mostly a structural issue that the government does not guarantee safety not only the LGBTI community, but the population in general, but it is an at-risk population that is more vulnerable and the government therefore must guarantee the welfare of the people.”
Portillo remains hopeful the migrants will have the help they need and be able to fulfill their objectives without many obstacles in the countries through which the caravans pass. She also urged the Salvadoran government to begin to tackle corruption within its institutions, to enforce decrees and different guidelines that have been created in support of the LGBTI community and to make sure it implements them as opposed to simply have them in writing.
“Given the high rates of violence in El Salvador, many of the people who make up that caravan will have their own reasons for migrating,” said Rodríguez. “But the Salvadoran government in this situation should at least coordinate with national institutions, international associations and bodies to provide some protection (to them) along the route and urge countries through which they travel to reach the U.S. (Guatemala, Mexico) protect their human rights.”
Articles 13 and 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says people have the right to move freely, including seeking refuge and asylum in extreme cases where their life is in danger.
People with the first caravan had reached Mexican territory as of deadline and families provided them shelter in which they were allowed to remain together. They also received medical assistance, food and access to baths and showers.
Indonesian authorities have also clamped down on LGBT+ activities in the past year.
In October, two Indonesian men were arrested on suspicion of setting up a Facebook page that co-ordinated gay hook-ups.
Indonesian police parade a group of men arrested for holding a “gay party” in Surabaya. (JUNI KRISWANTO/AFP/Getty)
In July, two men were publicly flogged for having gay sex in Aceh.
And, in February, Indonesian authorities set up a task force to stop “the LGBT disease.”
The new task force was established by Mayor Muhammad Idris of Depok, a district in West Java with more than 1.75 million people.
According to Indonesian publication Kompas, Idris said: “Religion has agreed that LGBT [people commit] forbidden acts, but legally we will overcome this problem so as not to worsen the issue.”
The mayor added: “This is our effort to prevent LGBT because many phone calls come to the Social Service requesting to help solve the LGBT disease”.
He said that “the campaign of rejecting LGBT will be conducted by this integrated team,” which would, he explained, “coach” LGBT people.
In January, police arrested 12 trans women in Aceh, shaving their heads and forcing them to wear typically male clothing in an effort to “turn them into men.”
In 2017, Indonesian police raided nightclubs, saunas and hotel rooms on suspicion of LGBT+ activities being carried out inside.
Pabllo Vittar, a drag queen and singer who has collaborated with stars like Major Lazer and Charli XCX, posted a rainbow to Instagram, with the caption: “I resist.”
Other posts reimagine the country’s flag as a rainbow one, featuring the words “proteja seus amigos”—’protect your friends’—as a reference to those groups such as women, indigenous people, asylum seekers who have previously been the target of Bolsonaro’s aggressive rhetoric.
A popular queer page in Brazil is one of many to share this image (Cartazes & Tirinhas LGBT/facebook)
The phrases “ninguém solta a mao de ninguém” and “no nos soltaremos las manos”—which both roughly translate to ‘we will not let go of each other’s hands’—have also been circulating to urge intersectional solidarity in the face of hatred.
José Miguel Vivanco, Human Rights Watch’s director of the Americas, said: “Brazil has independent judges, dedicated prosecutors and public defenders, courageous journalists and a vibrant civil society.
“We will not let go of each other’s hands” (faetonte/instagram)
“Human Rights Watch will join them in resisting any attempt to erode the rights and democratic institutions that Brazil has built with so much effort over the past three decades.”
Amnesty International’s Americas director, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said: “The president-elect has campaigned with an openly anti-human-rights agenda and frequently made discriminatory statements about different groups of society.
Some of the most popular shared images on Brazilian social media, including one which compares Bolsonaro to Adolf Hitler (gabrielawiener/twitter)
“His election as Brazil´s president could pose a huge risk to Indigenous Peoples and quilombolas, traditional rural communities, LGBTI people, black youth, women, activists and civil society organisations, if his rhetoric is transformed in public policy.
“With the electoral process now over, we all face the challenge of protecting human rights for everyone in Brazil.”
A protest against Bolsonaro before the second round of voting (NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty)
This was before the “frightening” spike in abuse and attacks that Brazilian LGBT+ activists described to The Guardianin a recent article.
Campaigner Beto de Jesus, who founded the annual Pride parade in São Paulo which this year attracted three million people, also told the publication: “It’s as if the gates of hell have been opened – as if hunting season had been declared.
“It’s barbarism.”
Bolsonaro has a long history of anti-gay comments, once commenting: “Yes, I’m homophobic – and very proud of it.”
Bolsonaro once said: “Yes, I’m homophobic – and very proud of it” (NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty)
Earlier this year, he reiterated his promise to punch two men in the street if he saw them kissing.
In 2013, during an interview with British actor and activist Stephen Fry, Bolsonaro said campaigners calling for LGBT+ equality “want to reach our children in order to turn the children into gay adults to satisfy their sexuality in the future.”
He has said there are “fundamentalist homosexual groups that are trying to take over society” (EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty)
Renan Quinalha, a São Paulo-based lawyer and LGBT activist, however said the LGBT+ community would not wave the white flag in the face of this hateful rhetoric. “Our role will be to support the resistance, fight and protect each other,” he wrote on Twitter, adding: “We are over 45% of the country’s voters. We will be more and more each time and we can form a huge resistance movement.”
Research by Ananda Ganguly and Joshua Tasoff from Claremont McKenna College sheds light on one reason why people living with HIV may not get tested: some people may not want to know if they’re living with HIV, and may go out of their way to avoid getting tested. Their research points to the importance of reducing fear and anxiety around HIV as a way to improve HIV testing rates.
Although there are many reasons why people may not want or may not be able to get tested for HIV, Ganguly and Tasoff’s research explores “the ostrich effect,” a behavior where people knowingly avoid potentially negative information named for the false tale that ostriches bury their heads in the ground to avoid danger. People may resist receiving unpleasant information about their health—even when knowing the health information would be useful. Ganguly and Tasoff found that college student volunteers were willing to pay money not to receive results from an HSV (herpes) infection test.
In the study, student participants sat through an informational webinar about HSV-1 (which is typically associated with cold sores) and HSV-2 (which is typically associated with genital herpes), that included clinical pictures of herpes sores and rates of infection among college students.
The participants had their blood drawn, and were told that they could have their blood tested for free for both kinds of herpes. Study participants were assured confidentiality, and procedures were put in place so that even clinical staff for the study would not know the test results associated with individual participants.
To test for “information avoidance,” the researchers told study participants that they could pay $10 to not have their blood tested. A share of participants (5.2%) chose to pay to avoid an HSV-1 test. Moreover, a greater share of participants (15.6%) paid to avoid receiving an HSV-2 test. HSV-2 was judged to be “worse” or more stigmatizing than HSV-1 by participants.
“The avoidance is particularly conspicuous when we consider that the fee for an HSV test at the university’s student health center is $40,” the researchers said. “[Participants] are offered a test of potential high usefulness that would otherwise cost them $40… and yet still refuse to accept the test.”
Among people who chose not to have their blood tested, most (64.7%) said that they declined testing because the result might cause stress or anxiety.
There are certainly many reasons why some people living with HIV may not be aware of their infection. In some areas, easy and convenient HIV testing services may not be readily available. In surveys, people say that annoyance at having to wait for test results and the belief that they’re not at risk for HIV keep them from accessing regular testing. Fear and misconceptions also play a role.
“I have delayed getting tested out of fear,” said David, a San Francisco Bay Area resident. “The fear of getting a positive result still creeps into my head every time I test. Even with PrEP, and safer sex practices.”
Jimmy Gale, manager of HIV-positive services at San Francisco AIDS Foundation recalls the anxiety of testing for HIV, in addition to the fear of being judged by medical providers. “It’s even more terrifying if you don’t feel comfortable talking to your doctor about your risk factors or sexual behavior,” he said. “While many healthcare agencies have gone out of their way to be more open and inclusive to LGBTQ patients, some providers still feel uncomfortable if a patient shares intimate details of their sex lives.”
Brittany Maksimovic, manager of testing services at San Francisco AIDS Foundation recommends that people establish a regular HIV testing routine with a provider or clinic they trust as a way to reduce fear and anxiety about HIV testing.
The mobile testing unit of San Francisco AIDS Foundation provides confidential and free HIV testing services.
“Testing doesn’t have to be scary, and any good sexual health screening program will endeavor to make you feel heard and supported,” said Maksimovic. “If you experience anxiety around HIV testing, you aren’t alone—many of our clients report feeling similarly. Because we know it can be nerve-wracking (having been there ourselves!) my team goes out of our way to make sure that your sexual health screening feels comfortable and safe. And, if you do test positive for HIV, we will connect you to care so that you can live healthy and well. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to your sexual health.”
“It’s important to test often. It will reduce your own anxiety and the more frequently you test, the easier it is to notify partners if you test positive for an STI. There are services available to help with partner notification, many of them can be done anonymously,” said Gale.
Norman Goldwasser, by day, is an Orthodox Jewish therapist at Horizon Psychological Services who compares homosexuality to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and misleads clients by claiming that their sexual orientation can be changed with his special brand of quack therapy, which is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association. By night, an undercover investigation by Truth Wins Out has found, he solicits sexual partners on Manhunt, a gay dating App, using the profile “Hotnhairy72.” During our operation, Goldwasser, going by the pseudonym “Dave”, offered to meet for sex with our operative, “Brandon,” at a Fort Lauderdale motel room. Goldwasser also had a profile on Bear Nation by the same name.
This latest scandal comes as the new movie Boy Erased (Starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, and Russell Crowe) has brought a renewed spotlight to the issue of the harm caused by “ex-gay” programs.
“Norman Goldwasser’s double life of unconscionable lies highlights the rank hypocrisy and predatory nature of the fraudulent ‘ex-gay’ industry,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We urge every state to ban the scourge of conversion therapy that attacks the mental health of LGBT youth and puts them in harms way.” Besen is the author of Anything Bust Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth.
According to the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Born Perfect Campaign, 14 states and the District of Colombia have laws that prohibit conversion therapy for minors. Unfortunately, there is a loophole for religious groups to abuse minors with their companion “pray away the gay” programs.
Truth Wins Out does not engage in the outing of people participating in ex-gay programs unless there is overwhelming hypocrisy, exchange of commerce, and the threat of harm to LGBT youth. The Goldwasser outing passes all three tests.
“Goldwasser can’t claim his personal life is none of our business when trying to ‘cure’ LGBT people is his business,” said Besen. “Here is a case where a charlatan is committing consumer fraud by misleading clients and adversely affecting their mental health. We are particularly concerned when Goldwassser’s scam preys on young people susceptible to his charade.”
Linked to the disgraced and now defunct Jewish “ex-gay” organization, Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), Goldwasser is controversial, once having a speaking appearance cancelled in Australia after people learned of his intolerant views. He is a signatory of the deeply homophobic “Declaration of the Torah Approach to Homosexuality,” which proclaims that recent acceptance of LGBT people is due to public relations efforts. According to the Declaration: “A propaganda blitz has been sweeping the world using political tactics to persuade the public about the legitimacy of homosexuality.”
A star of the conversion therapy movement, Goldwasser co-wrote a paper in 2006 with notorious conversion therapy proponent David Matheson, “Holistic Therapy: A Comprehensive, Clinical Approach to the Treatment of SSA.” The term SSA is used as shorthand in conversion therapy circles for “Same Sex Attraction.” The paper is gratuitously anti-gay and extremely offensive, habitually confusing crass stereotypes with actual science. In one section, homosexuality, which is not a mental health disorder or disease, is casually pathologized and compared to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:
“Individuality/Uniqueness – Each person has his/her own unique individuality – there are no two person who are exactly alike. Two people with SSA can be completely different in every other aspect of their lives and psychological makeup and cannot be grouped solely based on their common challenge. Similarly, OCD can manifest itself in countless different variations, subtypes, and combinations. Describing a group of individuals only in terms of OCD compromises and distorts the comprehensive and accurate clinical picture of each individual.”
Goldwasser has also funneled clients into the predatory and ineffective Journey into Manhood (JIM) program, where gay men are taken into the woods to participate in what are considered “manly” activities to change their sexual orientation from gay to heterosexual. They are also falsely diagnosed as having become gay because of poor parental relationships or not participating in sports. The program is controversial, because some who have attended JIM say the program includes bizarre and inappropriate cuddling sessions. The fact that Goldwasser was caught on Manhunt, highlights why Truth Wins Out has frequently referred to the JIM program as “Journey into Manhunt.”
In a 2015 talk delivered by Goldwasser in Israel, he falsely conflated homosexuality and sexual abuse, and joked with the audience about a client who lived on gay-friendly Miami Beach saying, “…do you know what South Beach is? Do you know what the connotation of South Beach is?”
Founded in 2006, Truth Wins Out is a nonprofit think tank and advocacy organization that fights against right wing extremism and anti-LGBT prejudice and discrimination.
An Orthodox Rabbi has said that gay people caused the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting which killed 11, adding: “I’m not sorry for this disaster.”
New Jersey Rabbi Mordechai Aderet told his followers not to go to a vigil for those murdered last Saturday (October 27) because it reportedly took place during a circumcision ceremony for the twins of two gay dads.
In a Facebook video which has been viewed more than 10,000 times since it was posted to Facebook on Sunday (October 28), Aderet said that anyone who attended the interfaith memorial was “spitting in Hashem’s (God’s) face.”
“I’m not sorry for this disaster” (Rav Yosef Mizrachi/facebook)
He continued: “The two men adopted a boy and did the brit milah (circumcision ceremony), and you wonder why there was a massacre? And now you want to go say Tehillim (readings from the Book of Psalms) for them?”
The rabbi also said that people shouldn’t go to pay their respects because the Tree of Life Congregation, where the shooting happened, invited other Jews to a vigil for the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
He referred to the 49 people killed in the attack as “those sinners, trash… that were killed in a massacre in a club. The club was a club for men to men.”
49 died in the attack on Pulse in 2016 (Joe Raedle/Getty)
“That’s the same people that invited the people two years ago to say Tehillim for those lowlives,” said the rabbi.
Aderet, who PinkNews understands has not attended the synagogue listed on his website, New Jersey’s Congregation Ahavath Torah, in the past year, continued: “All those people who go tonight, you protest against Hashem (God).
“This is not Tehillim, this is spitting in Hashem’s face. And you like it or you don’t like it, that’s the emet (truth).”
He added: “Those people do not let Moshiach (the Messiah) come. If you don’t go on the straight… thing, Hashem won’t bring the Moshiach.”
Dr Jerry Rabinowitz worked a short drive from the synagogue (michael kerr/facebook)
The doctor, who practised family medicine a short drive from the synagogue, was praised after his death by one of his patients, Michael Kerr.
In a Facebook post on Sunday (October 28), Kerr described Rabinowitz’s kind treatment of people with HIV during a time in which tens of thousands died and many were scared to touch sufferers, let alone care for them.
Kerr said that “in the old days for HIV patients in Pittsburgh he was [the] one to go to.”
Kerr praised Rabinowitz (michael kerr/facebook)
“Basically before there was effective treatment for fighting HIV itself, he was known in the community for keeping us alive the longest.”
November is observed across the United States as Native American Heritage Month. In this interview with History Happens, GLBT Historical Society board member J. Miko Thomas offers perspectives on the importance of Two-Spirit heritage for both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people. “Two Spirit” is a notion shared among many Native American tribes that describes individuals who feel they naturally manifest both masculine and feminine spiritual qualities.
Thomas is a former co-chair of Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits, an organization committed to activism and service to Two-Spirit and ally communities of the Bay Area. Thomas first became involved with LGBTQ and Native American organizing at the University of Oklahoma, then served in the U.S. Navy before settling in San Francisco. A Chickasaw writer, musician, artist and activist, Thomas is renowned for performing as the larger-than-life Landa Lakes. Among the honors Thomas has received are the New York Fresh Fruit Festival Performance Award and the KQED LGBT Local Hero Award.
What are some of the essential messages of Native American Heritage Month?
A Native identity comes from culture. It’s not just the genealogical fabric and the stories that you are told; it’s a living, breathing, vibrant community. We have survived for half a millennium against the odds of genocide, diseases unknown to us and oppression — but we are still resilient.
Why does Two-Spirit history matter for both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people?
Two-Spirit history is important for both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people because it gives us a sense that our ancestors respected all members of the community. For many Native people growing up, they can be unaware of the history that has existed for us. Learning about this history gives us a feeling of connectedness.
For non-Natives, Two-Spirit history informs them that LGBTQ people have existed here before what they think of as the start of gay history with the Stonewall Riots in 1969. And maybe it will inspire them to look not only into the history of Natives, but also into the tapestry of the many gay rights pioneers that were queer before it was “cool.”
How can Two-Spirit histories be acknowledged and preserved for future generations?
The GLBT Historical Society and the community at large can help support Two-Spirit histories by giving us space. So many times, Native people are overlooked except when it comes to saying a prayer. There is more substance to us than just our spiritual side. The analogy that we want a space at the table is only a part of it; we also want to be heard.
I think people are surprised to learn that Native people had cultures that were accepting of Two Spirits because they think of Natives only in terms of the two-dimensional characters in cowboy movies. They’re missing the real meat of our culture, which says that everyone has a place and everyone is welcome.
Nalini Elias serves as program manager for the GLBT Historical Society.
NOTE: In collaboration with Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits, the GLBT Historical Society has organized a series of programs focused on the Two-Spirit experience. For the full list, see Upcoming Events below.
Colombia have laws that prohibit conversion therapy for minors. Unfortunately, there is a loophole for religious groups to abuse minors with their companion “pray away the gay” programs.
gay men are taken into the woods to participate in what are considered “manly” activities to change their sexual orientation from gay to heterosexual. They are also falsely diagnosed as having become gay because of poor parental relationships or not participating in sports. The program is controversial, because some who have attended JIM say the program includes bizarre and inappropriate 
